For the First Time in Forever

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four

Chapter One

Ponyville: Golden Oaks Library

Twilight Sparkle panicked, stumbling as she galloped through the library. “Where are all my quills?” she gasped.

The unicorn’s eyes darted nervously around the room, searching. Why couldn’t she ever find anything in this library when she needed it?

Spike patiently watched Twilight run across the floor. She turned into a real runner whenever she was seriously stressed. It was best to stand back and let the storm pass. He waited off to the side, holding an empty pillowcase.

Twilight spotted the quills in a cup on a shelf, right where she always kept them. She should’ve checked there first. Grinding her teeth, she used her magic to send them sailing like darts over to Spike. He nimbly leapt into the air to catch them with the pillowcase before Twilight managed to impale somepony with her carelessness.

The frantic unicorn levitated books off the shelves and read their titles as they passed by her. “No, no, no, no,” she said, fear filling her as each book that passed wasn’t one she needed.

She dashed off in frustration. “Ugh! I need the Magical Compendium, Volumes One through Thirty-Six! Where is it?!” she yelled.

Off to the side, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash watched their friend with worry. Twilight ignored them and levitated more books from the shelves, trying to find what she needed. Triumphant, her magic grasped an enormous tome at the back of the shelf. She levitated the Compendium over to Spike to catch it. He was immediately crushed by the falling book’s weight. He crawled out from under the cover.

“Flash cards!” Twilight declared suddenly, unconcerned for Spike. She galloped over to a drawer and magically lifted a gigantic stack of blank notecards over to her assistant. “Spike, I’m gonna need you to quiz me. On everything. Everything I’ve ever learned. Ever.” The unicorn paused and eyed the piles wobbling in her assistant’s claws. “That isn’t going to be enough cards.”

Spike frowned and managed to gingerly set the cards on the floor. “Twilight, calm down. It’s just a test.”

“Just a test? Just a test!?” she shouted angrily at him.

Spike winced at her hysterics and backed up slowly as Twilight began lecturing him. She advanced menacingly and forced him into a corner, yelling at him with every step.

“Princess Celestia wants to give me some kind of exam, and you’re trying to tell me to calm down because it’s just a test?!” she shrieked.

Spike grabbed a nearby helmet and hid his scaly body beneath pillows, preparing for the worst. He replied uncertainly, “Uh. . .yes?”

Twilight’s horn began to glow in a pink light, and her eye twitched. That definitely wasn’t a good sign.

Applejack turned to Rarity, “I’d say she’s handling things pretty well, considerin.”

Twilight Sparkle growled in frustration and let off a burst of magic. In a mere second, her magic flung the entire library tree fifty feet into the air. Her friends screamed in panic, suddenly finding themselves violently thrown upward on a ride they wanted no part of. As quickly as the tree house had rocketed skyward, the spell sent them crashing back down again. Ponies and dragon ended up slamming into the floor painfully. Nearly all the books tumbled off the shelves in the process, and all were buried beneath tiny avalanches of tomes.

All except Twilight. Her eyes glowed white, and she floated, suspended in mid-air in the center of the library. She was lost in her emotions and magic. What if she didn’t pass this test? What if she failed? She needed to prepare, and there was so little time. And her friends didn’t even understand how important this was to her. Her friends were being so unsupportive. Her friends were--

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted angrily, her voice muffled.

The lavender unicorn blinked and her spellwork dissipated. Her friends were buried under heaps and heaps of books.

“Oh my goodness!” Twilight said, lowering herself to the ground. She grasped Rainbow Dash’s hoof, peeking out from the pages, and pulled. “I’m so sorry!”

The pegasus stretched her wings. “Well, next time you have a freak out, ya might want to cut down on the magic a bit.”

“I don’t know what came over me,” Twilight said, levitating books around, trying to uncover the rest of her friends. “I just got so frustrated about this test and—” she couldn’t make herself continue.

“Twilight,” Applejack grunted, shoving worn volumes off of herself. “Ya need to calm down. Ponies aren’t made to be flung up into the air.”

Rainbow Dash looked at her pointedly.

“Well, the wingless ones anyway,” the country pony corrected.

Rarity emerged from a pile and daintily levitated an encyclopedia off her head. “Honestly, darling. You’re simply wrecking your nerves over this exam. That can’t be good for your complexion. . .or your humble abode,” she said, glancing around at the state of the library.

Twilight looked at the mess and sat down dejectedly. “I know. . .I completely lost control of my magic. If I did that during the test, I’d flunk for sure.”

“Um, not to be a bother to anypony,” a small voice came from underneath an immense amount of books, “but, I, um, I appear to be stuck. Help? Please?” The last question ended in a bit of a squeak.

“Oh, gosh!” Twilight exclaimed, jumping up and tossing novels aside with her magic.

“Hang in there, Fluttershy!” Applejack said, shoving books off the pile. “We’re a comin!”

The ponies quickly pushed aside and levitated the tomes away to reveal the shy pegasus curled up in a ball. She opened her eyes as the books were removed. “Oh, thank you! It was awful dark and dusty for a bit.”

“Oh, so you’re afraid of books now, too?” Rainbow Dash scoffed.

“Just falling ones,” she admitted.

“Wait,” Twilight whipped her head back and forth scanning the room. “Where’s Spike?”

“Oh, he’s right here,” Fluttershy answered softly, lifting up a wing.

Underneath was Spike, sitting with his arms crossed. He glared up at Twilight, “I told you to calm down.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness none of her friends were seriously hurt. She smiled weakly at Fluttershy. It was just like her to think of friends before herself. Fluttershy had protected Spike. Twilight sat down. All she had done this morning was freak out and mess everything up. Spike was right. She should calm down.

But how could she possibly calm down when she knew she was going to fail?

The front door banged against the wall and all of them jumped. Pinkie Pie bounded into the room and grabbed Twilight by the shoulders, lifting her up.

“Oh, my gosh, Twilight!” Pinkie exclaimed breathlessly. “I was on my way over here, and I saw your tree house just lift into the air! POOF! And then it fell right back down again! WHAM! If only I had been here a few seconds sooner! It looked like so much fun! I’m here now! Do it again!”

Rarity rubbed her bruised side. “Believe me, Pinkie. It was anything but fun.”

“So. . .it was chocolaty?” the pink pony asked, clearly confused.

“Pinkie,” Twilight began.

“What? She said it was anything but fun. Anything is like a whole lot.”

Twilight gently removed Pinkie’s hooves from her shoulders. “It was an accident. I’m. . .I’m trying to get ready for Celestia’s test.”

“Oh!” Pinkie said thoughtfully. “So, you’re practicing.”

Twilight shook her head, “No, that’s not what I—” And then she realized what the pony had said. “Pinkie, you’re a genius!” Twilight exclaimed.

“I am?”

Twilight laughed, picking up books and scanning the titles, “Spike, you’re right. I do need to calm down. But I can’t calm down by doing nothing. What I need is some good old-fashioned practice.”

The girls and dragon watched her hesitantly.

“Well, uh, if it would make you feel better,” Applejack said.

Twilight nodded. “I know it would, and here’s just the spell.”

She levitated a thick and ornate open book over to the group. Complicated diagrams and calculations were scrawled across the pages in tiny hoofprint. Most of the words didn’t make any sense to her friends. The title, however, they could comprehend.

“Arcaneum Winter?” Spike read aloud.

Rarity gasped, “Is this a weather spell?”

“Yup,” Twilight called over her shoulder. She opened a drawer and levitated a piece of chalk out. “That’s one of Starswirl the Bearded’s spells. He wrote it when he traveled back in time to the era before the three tribes united. He made spells for all kinds of weather.”

“Yes, but,” Rarity glanced at the pages, “Unicorns don’t need to use complex weather spells anymore. The pegasi take care of that for everypony in Equestria.”

Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest and grinned. “That’s right. You should just let professionals handle it.”

Twilight began to rapidly sketch lines onto the floor with the chalk. She focused on the marks instead of her friends. “Yes, but who knows what might be Celestia’s test? Whatever it is, it certainly won’t be easy. So, I should practice a spell that will challenge me.”

“Um, I don’t mean to be rude, Twilight,” Fluttershy said as she watched the unicorn cross the floor, leaving a chalk trail behind her. “But have you ever done a spell like this?”

“Oh, I read all about them in Starswirl’s journals,” Twilight replied flippantly. “And I’ve always wanted to try one. There’s no time like the present!”

She abruptly stopped and straightened. “There.”

The ponies and dragon stared at the drawing surrounding them. Swirls and shapes contained runes and mathematical calculations—exact replicas of those found in the text. The numbers, letters, and lines intersected and wove in and out of each other, all contained in a frame of a shape that resembled an ornate snowflake. The ponies and dragon stood in the center of the chalk marks in awe.

“Oh, Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed. “I didn’t know you were an artist!”

Twilight snorted, “I’m not. This is just part of the spell.”

“But it’s so pretty!” Pinkie gushed.

Applejack stepped carefully in-between the chalk lines so she wouldn’t smudge Twilight’s work. “It is a very fancy somethin’ or other. But what exactly does this spell of yours do?”

“It’s supposed to summon a small winter storm,” Twilight said, gesturing for the girls to step outside of her drawing.

There was a collective gasp.

“What?” the studious unicorn asked. “Don’t worry. These runes on the outer ring keep the weather inside the boundaries. And these sigils protect me from the storm as well. The spell is completely contained and safe.”

Spike wrung his claws. “A-Are you sure? You’ve never done a spell like this, and you already made a mess of the library.”

Twilight smiled at her faithful assistant. She rubbed a hoof over his spines affectionately. “It will be fine. Trust me. For once, I’m not worried. So you shouldn’t be either.”

She gently levitated him outside the drawing to stand beside her friends. Twilight took her place in the center and checked her markings on the floor. She made sure they matched Starswirl’s examples in the book exactly. Everything was in place. Everything was ready.

Twilight looked up from the tome and smiled at her friends reassuringly. She didn’t feel so worried about the test now. Once she completed this spell, she knew she’d be ready for whatever Celestia had in store for her. After all, magic was her element. She could handle a spell like this.

Twilight’s friends smiled nervously back at her. They were probably concerned that she’d fling them all up into the air again.

Not this time.

Twilight closed her eyes and channeled her magic through her horn, concentrating her thoughts on winter. She visualized snowflakes, wind, clouds, and cold. The lavender unicorn felt the air begin to swirl around her. Twilight opened her eyes and allowed the magic to flow freely. Clouds formed above, and snowflakes began to fall within the chalk drawing. The patterns she drew glowed dimly. It was working. She grinned triumphantly. It was working!

Her friends cheered and stamped their hooves in congratulations. All except Spike. He watched Twilight fearfully and remained silent.

The wind blew faster and swirled the snow around her in a vortex, and the wind rushed faster. Now the snow fell in thick fluffy flakes making it difficult to see her friends. Twilight glanced around her nervously. Well, she was conjuring a winter storm. This was probably a part of it. Still, she had never been in a blizzard before. It seemed kind of. . .frightening.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted over the wind. “That’s good enough! You can stop now!”

Twilight silently agreed. She slowly released her mental grip on the spellwork, but found that the spell did not release its grip on her. The storm raged. Panicking, her mind raced, casting counter spells and activating magical fail safes. She cast spell upon spell, her horn now layered with several pink auras and shooting sparks. Twilight’s skull pounded with the energy and mental effort it took to channel such magic through her horn.

None of it mattered. Her magic didn’t make a dent in dissipating the winter surrounding her. She couldn’t even see her friends now. Everything was a blinding wall of writhing wind and white.

Twilight scrunched her eyes shut. She didn’t dare try to step outside the lines of her drawing. The wards and seals on the floor were the only things keeping her and her friends safe from the storm. There was only one thing left to do. She dug deep into the last reserves of her power, channeling all of her will and magic into a single command; stop the Arcaneum Winter. She opened her eyes, shining as brightly white as the snow around her, and threw all of her power at the storm itself.

And the magic bounced back with such a force, Twilight was swept off her hooves. She screamed as she soared up into the clouds. There was nothing but white, white, white all around her. Brilliant and cruel and blank. She flailed in the white, desperate for it all to stop.

Her wish was granted in the harshest way.

The unicorn pitched headfirst into solid ground and gave in to pain and darkness.

* * * * * * * * *

Arendelle: The Castle Ballroom

Elated, Anna pushed through the crowd in the ballroom, pulling Hans along behind her.

“Oops! Pardon!” she apologized as she trod on a guest’s dress. “Can we just get around you there? Thank you,” the young princess said, squeezing past a portly gentleman.

Anna then spotted her sister, speaking quietly with one of the nobles. Gosh, Elsa looked as regal as ever. “Oh, there she is,” she said to Hans.

She called out, “Elsa!”

The queen turned curiously toward Anna. Anna curtseyed awkwardly in front of her older sister.

“I mean . . .Queen,” Anna said more formally. She took Hans’s arm. “Me again. May I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles.”

Hans bowed perfectly in front of Elsa. “Your majesty.”

Elsa arched an eyebrow as Anna watched him giddily. Anna’s freckled cheeks were flushed, and a few auburn wisps of hair had escaped from her bun. Elsa hadn’t seen Anna at the party for a while. No doubt he had been the cause of her absence.

Elsa glanced at Hans. So, this was Anna’s love interest. He was certainly handsome enough for a prince, but she couldn’t recall anything particular about him. Then again, there were lots of guests present that she knew next to nothing about. He was just another regal face.

Still, Elsa gave the poor prince a polite but reserved nod. Hopefully, her sister wasn’t giving him too much of a hard time. She knew Anna could be a bit of a chatterbox.

Hans and Anna smiled at each other and began speaking at the same time. “We would like—”

Anna giggled and Hans continued, “Uh, your blessing.”

They both chuckled and finished, holding one another, “Of our marriage!”

“Wha--Marriage?” Elsa gaped at them.

Marriage? Marriage? The question kept echoing in her mind. She had thought Anna had brought Hans over for introductions. This was no way to be introduced! Surely Anna didn’t mean it. This had to be a joke or something. Anna wasn’t actually serious, was she?

“Yes!” Anna squeaked happily.

She seemed serious.

“I’m sorry. I’m confused,” Elsa said bluntly.

Anna waved her hand. “Well, we haven’t worked out all the details ourselves. We’ll need a few days to plan the ceremony. Of course, we’ll have soup, roast, and ice cream,” Anna turned to Hans, struck with an idea. “Oh, wait, will we live here?”

“Here?” Elsa repeated.

Hans held Anna’s hands, “Absolutely!”

“Anna,” Elsa said.

“Oh, we can invite all twelve of your brothers to stay with us!” Anna exclaimed. “Of course, we have the room. I don’t know. Some of them must—”

“What? No. N-no-no no. Just. W-wait. Slow down,” Elsa began. “No one’s brothers are staying here. No one is getting married.”

“Wait, what?” Anna asked, turning to Elsa and finally listening to her.

Elsa could feel emotions bubbling up inside of her. Concern for Anna. Bewilderment of this little “announcement.” Anger toward Hans, who had somehow thought it was okay to propose so soon to her little sister. She stopped herself. Now was not the time. She could seethe in her room about it later. For now, don’t feel.

Elsa wrung her hands. “May I talk to you, alone?”

“No. Whatever you have to say, you can say to both of us,” Anna replied, taking her side with Hans.

“Fine,” Elsa stated cooly. “You can’t marry a man you’ve just met.”

She knew that at least logic was on her side tonight.

“You can if it’s true love,” Anna insisted.

“Anna, what do you know about true love?” Elsa asked, tiredly.

“More than you,” Anna replied. “All you know how to do is shut people out.”

Elsa flinched. The comment seemed to drive through her like a blade. And she could not deny the cold truth in it.

“You asked for my blessing, but my answer is no,” Elsa took a breath and turned away. “Excuse me.”

She was feeling too much. She needed to leave. Remove herself from the situation.

“Your majesty, if I may ease your—” Hans began.

“No, you may not, and I think you should go,” Elsa said quickly. “The party is over. Close the gates,” Elsa commanded the guard.

She had enough of this for one night. Her last night. This was clearly a mistake. She couldn’t handle events like this. It was too risky.

“What? Elsa, no. No, wait!” Anna darted forward and snatched at Elsa’s hand. Anna ended up holding her glove instead.

Elsa gasped in panic as she felt the glove pull away. She balled her fingers into a fist and hid her bare hand in her cloak. “Give me my glove!” she cried, desperately reaching for it.

Anna held the glove just out of reach. “Elsa, please. Please. I can’t live like this anymore.”

Elsa could see the desperation on her sister’s face. “Then leave,” she said weakly.

It was the wrong thing to say. She could tell those words had only hurt Anna. Elsa turned, sighing darkly. All she ever did was hurt her sister. No matter how hard she tried to protect her. Elsa’s eyes welled up with tears. She walked away, hugging herself. She was feeling too much. Far too much.

“What did I ever do to you?” Anna called after her loudly.

Elsa noticed people turning to watch them. They were making a scene.

“Enough, Anna,” Elsa warned, continuing on.

“No. Why?” Anna shouted angrily. “Why do you shut me out?! Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?!”

Emotions flared inside Elsa. Anger. Pain. Fear. Sorrow. They all burst within her. In that instant, she let herself feel.

“I said enough!” Elsa cried, whirling around.

Ice shot from her hand, arcing in a semicircle around her. Elsa watched in horror as jagged spikes thrust out toward the crowd. Anna and several guests jumped back to avoid being struck. Nobles and dignitaries shouted in fear. Elsa saw the expressions of shock and horror on their faces. And Anna. Sweet Anna. She saw fear in Anna’s eyes.

What had she done?

More ice poured from her hand, freezing the floor around her. Elsa clutched her wrist, trying desperately to control her power, but the magic kept spewing forth. Snow began to materialize from the air and fall. Uncontrolled breezes swirled the flakes around her in a vortex, rushing faster and faster. She had always maintained a slippery grasp of her magic, but this? It felt like something else was doing this. Like some unseen force was drawing all of her power out of her hand. The wind positively roared now, drowning out the screams of the guests. She couldn’t see anything beyond all the snow and ice. A blizzard engulfed her.

Then the floor disappeared, and her stomach dropped to her feet. Elsa felt like she was floating. All was black.

Anna? Where was Anna?

What had she done?

In a flash of brilliant white light, she found herself standing on solid ground again. Nausea and pain rolled through her. She shivered. For once she felt frigid and cold like ice. Elsa blinked blearily against the light. Images swam into focus.

Ponies. There were five small ponies in front of her. With the most absurd colors of coats.

Where was she? This. . .wasn’t the ballroom. Everything about the room, the creatures, the colors—screamed of wrongness to her. Her breath came out in gasps. What was going on?

“Wha-where’s, Twilight?” a lavender lizard asked.

Elsa screamed. Ice flew from her fingertips freezing a patch of the floor. She backpedaled, terrified. Her foot slipped, and she fell, slamming her head painfully against a bookcase.

And the world went black again.

Chapter Two

Ponyville: Golden Oaks Library

Elsa found herself staring up at a tan-colored ceiling, patterned with numerous rings. She smiled to herself sleepily. It gave her the sensation that she was inside a tree. What an idea, living inside a living tree.

She moved to roll over on her side and go back to sleep. Her stiff limbs ached in protest. Odd, it seemed she was lying on a very hard wooden floor. She glanced around, trying to focus. Books lay in haphazard piles near her, and a yellow pony sat among them. Elsa thought the pony was a stuffed animal until it blinked its blue eyes at her.

“Um. . .hello,” the pony breathed timidly.

With a jolt, Elsa remembered. Her coronation, the fight with Anna, losing control of her powers. . . and the strange ponies and the lizard. Where was she? Frost began to form on her palms and she clutched the blanket nervously.

“Oh, um, please don’t be scared,” the pony said. “I’m not gonna hurt you. M-My name is Fluttershy.”

Elsa noticed the pony was trembling slightly. The creature may have been trying to reassure Elsa, but the poor thing was frightened herself. The pony really did remind Elsa of a stuffed animal. Elsa gave Fluttershy a cautious smile. Fluttershy—an odd but pretty sounding name.

“I’m P—,” Elsa stopped. No, not, Princess. Queen now. But did she want to tell this creature that? “I’m Elsa,” she finished simply.

The pony brightened at hearing her name. “Pleased to meet you.”

Elsa gingerly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her head throbbed painfully, and the room spun. She breathed out and waited for her vision to clear.

“Are you all right? You took a nasty fall,” Fluttershy murmured.

“I’m fine,” Elsa said. “Just tell me where I am. And. . .what are you?”

“That’s funny,” a new voice responded. “I have the same question for you.”

A short lavender lizard stepped out from behind a pile of books. His arms were folded across his pudgy belly, and his green eyes flashed at Elsa angrily. “Who are you? And what have you done with Twilight?”

Before Elsa could respond, an orange pony joined him. She placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder. “Now hang on a minute there, Spike. Don’t go accusing her of anything just yet. Not until we’ve heard her story.”

“Well, why not?” a bright blue pony flapped her wings above the pair. “Twilight vanished and she appeared. How do you explain that? I’m with Spike. She must’ve done something. I mean just look at her!”

“Now, now, Rainbow Dash,” a pristine white pony tittered. “One cannot judge a book by its cover. Unless it’s dusty, of course. . .”

An absurdly pink pony burst from the pile of pages. “Books? I thought we were talking about that weird-looking creature over there. She doesn’t look anything like a book. I should know; I’ve spent the last half hour making this awesome book fort!”

The ponies and lizard began bickering about what they thought of Elsa. Their voices rose over one another, arguing the finer points of whether she was evil or a book. Until finally Fluttershy stamped her hooves.

“Enough!” she shouted.

The others immediately stopped talking.

“Um, I mean, we agreed that I was going to talk with the new pony,” Fluttershy continued quietly. “You all were supposed to stay out of sight. . . so we wouldn’t scare her again.”

The five ponies and lizard turned to look at Elsa. Elsa glanced at the gathering frost on the blanket. She twisted the cloth around her bare hand and clamped down on her rising fear. “I’m fine,” she said. “I just need answers.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy smiled reassuringly. “You’re in Ponyville, and this is Applejack, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.”

Fluttershy motioned with a hoof to each of them in turn. The ponies either nodded or waved kindly at Elsa when their names were mentioned. Spike and Rainbow Dash gave Elsa disapproving glares instead.

“Ponyville?” Elsa repeated. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“Funny, I didn’t think we were that small of a town,” Applejack muttered.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Well, you’re in Equestria. Every pony has heard of that.”

Elsa shook her head.

“What? Pinkie, find an atlas,” Applejack said.

Pinkie Pie saluted and burrowed into her book fort. The heap of books trembled and shook until she reappeared at the top of the pile.

“Found it!” she shouted, holding a large dusty book in her hooves.

Rarity levitated the atlas over to Elsa, shuddering all the while. “Disgusting.”

Spike muttered something about how he meant to clean those shelves Tuesday. Elsa took the open book. She scanned the Equestrian map quickly. None of the places were familiar. She flipped through more pages. Strange names and cheerfully painted places caught her eye but nothing of Arendelle. Elsa turned the pages faster, searching desperately for answers until she finally found the world map. Her wrapped fingers trembled as she stared at the drawings.

Elsa looked up at the strange figures. “If—If this book is to be believed, then I’m not just in a different place. I’m in a different world.”

“Look, snow!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

All of them looked up at the ceiling. Sure enough, tiny flakes of snow slowly drifted down in the room. Pinkie stuck her tongue out to catch one. Spike and Rainbow Dash glared at Elsa accusingly.

Fluttershy placed a reassuring hoof on Elsa’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay.”

“How?” Rainbow Dash asked. “How is everything going to be okay? Twilight is missing!”

“What are you talking about?” Elsa asked, struggling to remain calm.

“Twilight Sparkle is our friend,” Spike said. “She was doing this winter spell in the room and then it just went out of control. She disappeared, and then you showed up instead.”

Rainbow Dash flapped over to Elsa and spoke in her face. “So, what have you done with Twilight?”

“I haven’t done anything!” Elsa said. More snow began to fall. “I. . .I lost control of my powers and then the next thing I knew, I was here.”

“Sure,” Spike scoffed.

“You expect us to believe that when you’re making it snow right now?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack bit down on Rainbow’s tail and yanked her backward. Rainbow landed in a heap beside her. “Y’all ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” she said glaring at the pegasus and Spike. “We need to be helpin’ each other, not fussing like a couple of roosters in a hen house.”

The pair harrumphed but said nothing.

“There, there, darling,” Rarity said soothingly to Elsa. “If you’re really from another world, I have just the answer. We’ll take you to see Princess Celestia. She’ll know what to do.”

“That’s right!” Fluttershy added. “She can tell us how to find Twilight. And how to get you home.”

The ponies and dragon smiled at each other with this hope. Elsa couldn’t help but feel some of that same hope herself. The snowflakes dissipated.

“Who is Celestia?” Elsa asked.

“Only the most kindest, wisest, beautiful-est, magic-est, awesome-est Princess in all of Equestria!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed waving her hooves. “Well, I mean, aside from Princess Luna. Anyway, Princess Celestia helps everypony! So, I’m sure she can help a pony like you!” Pinkie Pie nodded to herself and then seemed struck with a sudden thought. “Wait, you’re not a pony, are you?”

“I’m a human.”

Fluttershy shrugged. “Even I’ve never heard of a. . .human before.”

Rainbow Dash shook snowflakes from her mane. “Sounds pretty fishy to me. Do all of you humans do weird snow stuff?”

Elsa looked helplessly at her hands, “No. Just me. I don’t even know why I have this power. I was just born with it. It . . . my emotions make it worse. Gloves help but . . .” She closed her eyes remembering Anna, clutching her glove. “I lost one.”

“Hmm, let me see that.” Rarity stepped forward and examined Elsa’s gloved hand. She smiled brightly. “Luckily I always leave emergency sewing materials at my friend’s houses. You never know when they may need an extra dose of fashion. Spike, get The Kit.”

Applejack looked stunned. “You left what at my house?”

Pinkie Pie shouted, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get to sewing so we can get going!”

Arendelle: Castle

Twilight tried to take in the scene around her. She was lying on her belly in a huge room surrounded by tall two-legged beings. She had never seen anything like them in Equestria and couldn’t remember ever reading anything about them. All of the creatures were wearing fancy dress clothes and were absolutely terrified. They kept screaming and shouting, clinging to each other and cowering near the walls. Several of them were pointing at her. Twilight stood, wanting to calm them. To her horror, she felt magical energy draining from her. She looked up.

Above Twilight winter storm clouds were growing and magic was still streaming from her horn. Starswirl’s spell was still active. Snow and patches of ice formed across the floor. She had to stop it before anypony got hurt. Twilight tried to concentrate, but she couldn’t. Not with all this noise.

“Monster! Monster!” a wiry short man yelled above the crowd. “Someone seize that thing! It’s taken the queen!”

Two of the larger creatures advanced toward her menacingly. They drew their swords.

“No, w-wait! You don’t understand!” Twilight cried out backing away.

The guards gasped. “It can talk?” one of them asked.

“I don’t care what it can do!” the wiry man pushed forward. “Kill it!”

A red-haired woman grabbed the arm of the guard. “No! You can’t!”

Twilight turned and ran. These beings were crazy. What in Equestria were they? Winter clouds and ice trailed behind her as she galloped down hall after hall. Something had gone completely wrong with the spell. She needed to get somewhere safe and figure this out. Twilight burst through a set of doors that opened on a vast courtyard. Hundreds of pale faces turned to gape at her. She ran down the steps into the crowd, freezing the ground as she went. The beings gave her a wide birth, gasping in shock.

“There she is!”

Twilight turned. The wiry man stood in the doorway with two guards. “Stop her!” he commanded the creatures.

“Please!” Twilight said, struggling to contain her magic. “Just stay away from me. Just stay away!”

A bolt of ice flew from her horn and shot out at the stairs. The wiry man and his guards were blasted to the sides.

“Monster,” the thin man muttered. “Monster!” he cried out louder.

“No,” Twilight said turning to the crowd. They backed away, frightened. A few children shrieked. Twilight gritted her teeth as storm clouds brewed above the sky. Thunder rolled and the temperature plummeted. Her horn fizzled and cracked, magic seeping from it. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Maybe she was a monster. . .

She galloped away.

“Wait!” a female voice reached Twilight’s ears.

Twilight didn’t wait. She had to get away from these . . . whatever they were. She was only a danger to them. She ran out of the courtyard and down a set of stone steps. Twilight skidded to a halt. A huge dark body of water stretched out before her. She’d never make it across with her magic going haywire. She was trapped.

“Wait! Stop!” the voice shouted.

Twilight backed away and one of her hooves touched the edge of the water. It crackled and froze beneath her. Gasping, she looked down at the newly-formed ice. It spread slowly around her. A woman in a green dress appeared under the arch of the steps. A man stood at her side clad in white.

“Wait,” she implored once more. “Please!”

Twilight shook her head and took another step. The water froze under her hooves. Decision made, she plunged forward onto the ice, running as fast as she could. It was hard going. She was galloping on ice, and it was all she could do to keep herself upright. She ran past boats in the water, and the ice spread out to them, cracking ominously. Twilight finally reached the other side of the bank and turned back to look at the fjord. It was completely frozen. She gulped, breathing hard.

Snow began to fall. She shivered and walked on.

* * * * * * * * * *

Anna shivered walking through the courtyard. She couldn’t believe it. Not any of it. First, her sister had refused to give her blessing for her marriage with Hans, which was stupid because he was a super-sweet guy. Then Elsa got really angry, and a blizzard spewed from her hand in the middle of the ball room, which explained, like, a lot about Elsa never wanting to leave her room and why she always acted so cold . . . no pun intended.

But now she was gone. Elsa had disappeared, and a pretty unicorn showed up in her place. Anna totally thought it was just a huge stuffed animal, but it turned out the thing could move and talk and had crazy ice powers just like her sister. The whole thing was just . . . so bizarre.

“Are you alright?” Hans asked following her.

“No,” Anna said.

“Did you know?”

She looked at him helplessly, “No.”

“Oh, no. It’s snowing. It’s snowing!” The Duke of Wesselton called out hysterically, “That monster has cursed this land! It must be stopped.” He turned to his guard and clung desperately to him. “You have to go after it.”

“Wait, no.” Anna said.

The duke hid behind his bodyguards. “You. . . I saw what your sister did. Is there sorcery in you? Are you like her and that monster, too?”

“No. No, I’m completely ordinary.”

“That’s right, she is,” Hans said. Anna gave him a look. “In the best way.” He added.

“And that thing isn’t a monster. She’s a unicorn.” Anna said.

The duke glared at the princess. “It nearly killed me!”

“You slipped on ice,” Hans said.

“Its ice!” the duke insisted.

“It was an accident. Can’t you see that?” Anna asked. “She was scared. I don’t think she meant for this to happen,” she gestured at the falling snow.

“But that thing took the queen! For all we know the queen is dead!”

Anna glared sharply at him. “My sister is not dead. She’s just. . . not here. Some sort of magic happened tonight, and that unicorn is the only one who can possibly tell us what. I’m going after her.”

“What?” Hans asked.

Anna walked away and waved to a servant. “Bring me my horse.”

Hans put a caring hand on her shoulder. “Anna, no, it’s too dangerous.”

Anna gazed up at him. He really was a sweetie. “I don’t think that unicorn is dangerous. She just looked so scared. If I approach her alone, maybe I can calm her down and talk to her. Figure out what’s going on and where Elsa is.” She stepped away from Hans, “I’ll bring Elsa back, and I’ll make this right.”

“I’m coming with you,” Hans insisted, taking her hand.

Anna shook her head. “No, I need you here. To take care of Arendelle.”

A servant gently placed a cloak on Anna’s shoulders. Hans let Anna go. “On my honor.”

Anna fastened her cloak and swung up onto her saddled horse. “I leave Prince Hans in charge,” she called out to everyone.

“Are you sure you can trust such a creature?” Hans asked. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“She’s a unicorn,” Anna smiled. “I’ve read enough stories about them when I was younger. They always help maidens in need.”

With that she flicked the reins and spurred her horse onward through the gates.

Chapter Three

Equestria: Near Canterlot

Elsa examined the beautiful new gloves she was wearing. The gloves were a violet that matched her cloak and fit her hands perfectly. Rarity had even stitched the hand and cuff designs from Elsa’s old glove in a blue thread that shimmered in the light. Elsa marveled at how the little pony had created them so quickly with her magic. Elsa wished her own magic could create such beauty.

“Do you like them, darling?” Rarity asked.

Elsa looked up. Rarity was sitting on the padded seat across from her. She was twisting her hooves a little nervously in her lap, anticipating Elsa’s reply.

Elsa smiled kindly at the pony. “I love them. They’re perfect.”

Pinkie Pie bounced on the cushion beside Elsa. She had been jumping up and down for nearly all the train ride. “Of course she loves them. They make her snow stop falling from the ceiling so much. Which I don’t know about you, but I think is really cool.” She stopped jumping. “Ha! Cool! Get it?”

She pressed her grinning pink face into Elsa’s. Elsa grimaced.

“Knock it off, Pinkie,” Rainbowdash grumped from the seat across the aisle. “We don’t need anypony hearing about her freaky snow stuff.”

Applejack nudged her, “Aw, calm down. Ain’t nopony in this car but us.”

Rainbowdash shrugged away from her friend’s touch and turned to look out the window. Elsa frowned at the pegasus’s attitude. Despite her obvious distrust for Elsa, Rainbow had managed to keep other ponies from entering the train car when they boarded. Rainbow had told anypony who dared to enter their car that there was a snake in the cabin, or that she had just seen a ghost, or that Applejack got horrible motion sickness from trains. (Applejack wasn’t happy about that last tale.) Still, Elsa had appreciated the gesture. And when she had tried to express this to Rainbow, the pony’s reply had been, “Whatever. The less ponies gawking at us, the better.”

At least Rainbowdash spoke to her. The little dragon refused to. He sat beside the pegasus and stared blankly at the floor.

“There it is!” Pinkie shouted, startling Elsa. Pinkie Pie leaned across the seat to press her face to the glass, laying across Elsa’s lap.

Elsa craned her head to see over the pony’s poofy mane. The city sat balanced on a mountain side next to flowing waterfalls. Her eyes danced over the swirling spires and charming towers. She had never seen a kingdom so large and yet, so inviting. It was difficult to tell where the castle even began. It blended seamlessly with the beauty of the city. She thought of Arendelle and of Anna. Elsa supposed that Anna wanted their castle to feel a lot like Canterlot. For every day before the coronation, the castle had felt cold and empty. She sighed and wished for the hundredth time she hadn’t been so angry with her sister.

Minutes passed and they waited in anxious silence for the train to arrive at the station. Now that they were so close to seeing the Princess, Elsa was feeling nervous. When they left Ponyville, Spike had sent a letter to Celestia explaining what had happened. Elsa didn’t try to rationalize how the baby dragon was able to mail letters in such an absurd way. Like most of what she had seen today, Elsa simply accepted it as the nature of magic in this world.

Celestia’s reply came swiftly in a burp of flame from the dragon’s mouth. It was a single sheet of parchment explaining that they were right to come to her at once, and a carriage escort would be waiting for them at the station. It didn’t reveal how the Princess felt about Elsa being in Equestria and Twilight’s disappearance. On the train Applejack had explained that Twilight was her star pupil. The Princess was about to give Twilight some sort of test before she had disappeared. It was why Twilight had been practicing her magic in the first place. Elsa imagined the Princess would treat her with the same hostility that Rainbowdash and Spike held for her. Worse, what if Celestia blamed her for Twilight’s disappearance?

The train stopped, ending Elsa’s brooding thoughts. The ponies, dragon, and human exited the train with little fanfare and stepped into the carriage that awaited them. Several ponies in gleaming golden armor surrounded the vehicle protectively. Elsa supposed that superficially the royal escort was there to make her feel safe in such a foreign kingdom. She wondered if they were there to intimidate her as well, a sign of the Princess’s power.

Elsa curled her gloved hands into fists. She would not enter the castle shaking like a leaf. Celestia wasn’t the only royalty here. If the Princess dared to punish her for a crime she didn’t mean to commit—well, then she’d escape. Elsa would find her own way home from this place. She closed her eyes and repeated her calming mantra. She couldn’t risk letting her emotions get out of control now.

The carriage stopped at the castle entrance, and the group followed two guards inside. Elsa took in the gorgeous halls as they walked. Eventually the armored ponies stopped and motioned for the group to continue through the open doorway. Elsa’s shoes sank into the luxurious magenta carpet. They were in what could only be the throne room. Brightly colored glass planes adorned the walls, and the ceiling soared skyward above them. None of these things captured Elsa’s attention as much as the two ponies at the end of the hall.

One was a coal-colored mare with a shimmering blue mane. She regarded the human coolly. Elsa didn’t know who this moon-mare was, but the new pony had to be royalty of some sort from the crown on her head. The taller pony could only be Celestia. She smiled at Elsa warmly, but Elsa didn’t smile back.

“Welcome to Equestria,” Celestia said. Her voice sounded regal, yet kind and gentle. “I wish that we could’ve met under much better circumstances.”

Elsa curtsied. She was a guest in a new land, after all. “As do I, Princess.”

The alicorn smiled at the ponies and dragon who knelt before her. “I’m glad to see that you’re all here. There are pressing matters at hand.” Her golden aura surrounded a book next to her. She held it in front of Spike. “Was this the spell Twilight cast?”

“Y-yeah. Arcaneum Winter.”

Celestia examined the pages herself. “This is just as we feared, Luna.” The princesses shared a knowing glance.

Luna explained, “Starswirl the Bearded’s magic works in mysterious and often unpredictable ways. He created this spell for skilled unicorns to summon winter without the aid of the pegasi tribe. But in order for the spell to work. . . the winter weather had to come from somewhere else.”

“What do you mean?” Elsa asked.

“Starswirl the Bearded was very interested in other worlds,” Celestia said with a sigh. “He often used his magic to try to connect with them. He was very experimental with his spell craft. When Twilight summoned a winter storm, she must have accidently summoned you because of your abilities. The spell was using your magic.”

Elsa examined her gloved hands. The spell brought her here because of her powers?

“But where’s Twilight?” Rainbow Dash practically shouted.

“Yes, where is she, the poor dear?” Rarity chimed in. The other ponies nodded emphatically. Spike held his tail in his claws.

“We believe Twilight switched places with Elsa,” Luna said. “She is in Arendelle.”

Elsa’s heart sank, and she heard gasps around her from the little ponies. A talking, colored pony in her kingdom? That couldn’t be good.

“Well, how do we get her back?” Applejack asked, stamping a hoof.

“And how do we get Elsa home?” Pinkie asked.

Celestia sighed, “Twilight is the one who caused the switch to happen using her own magic. She must be the one to reverse it.”

The ponies and dragon began talking over one another.

“You can’t be serious!” shouted Rainbowdash.

Fluttershy touched a hoof to her mouth, horrified. “But Twilight is there all alone.”

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Applejack said.

“You must send us to Arendelle!” Rarity said. “Can’t your magic do that?”

“Yeah! Send us there,” Spike pleaded. “Please.”

Luna shook her head sadly. “We have no way to send you to Arendelle. Or to send Elsa back. There is no spell for this. I’m sorry, but we all must have faith in Twilight.”

The ponies looked at one another sadly. Spike turned and hugged Fluttershy. Elsa took a shaky breath. So she was stuck here with no way to get home. Not unless that Twilight Sparkle figured out how to switch them back. What if Twilight couldn’t do it? What if she never got to see Anna again? Snow began to fall from the ceiling as Elsa blinked back tears.

The two princesses looked at each other and then at Elsa.

“Elsa,” Celestia said softly. “We believe that you and Twilight Sparkle changed places for a reason. Destiny brought you here.”

Elsa glanced up at the Princess sharply. “Destiny?”

“Yes. Right now, Equestria needs you. All of you.” She nodded at the ponies and Spike. “The Crystal Empire has returned.”

Elsa turned to the ponies for an explanation, but they seemed just as confused as she was.

“What’s that?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah,” Pinkie added. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a Crystal Empire.”

Celestia turned and levitated a crystal that was next to the throne. “Few remember it ever existed at all. Even my knowledge of the Empire is limited.”

She set the crystal on the floor at Elsa’s feet and let loose a beam of magic upon it. A map of light radiated from the stone, and Elsa stumbled back. She stared aghast at the map. The empire in detailed glory lay before her. The ponies and dragon stepped closer to examine the image. They could make out tiny windows and miniature flowers. Then a blast of blue light rocketed upward from the center, forming a tall crystal castle. Elsa looked at Celestia with a newfound wonder. What else was this creature capable of?

Celestia continued, “But what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic. One thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire.”

Elsa watched as tiny ponies appeared on the map. They were going about their daily business as much as people would in the streets of Arendelle. Then a multitude of dark crystals emerged from the ground, looming over the houses and trees. The black crystal spread, quickly covering the castle and a phantom of a ghastly unicorn appeared at the top. Elsa cringed at the sight of Sombra. He was a horrible beast with a red spiked horn and flaming eyes.

“He was ultimately overthrown, turned to shadow, and banished to the ice of the arctic north. But not before he was able to put a curse upon the Empire. A curse that caused it to vanish into thin air.”

With a rush of light and magic, the map was swept back into the crystal. Celestia levitated the gem into the air and smiled. “If the Empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Equestria.” She sent a burst of magic from her horn to the crystal and it shimmered, reflecting beautiful colors throughout the room. “If hatred and fear take hold. . .”

The princess closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they had become green and flaming like Sombra’s. She released what could only be dark magic from her horn, and the crystal turned black. A long shadow appeared on the floor stretching toward Elsa. Ebony crystals erupted from the floor around the human. Elsa’s stomach turned. The Princess knew how to wield dark magic?

Just as quickly as Celestia had caused the crystals to form, she used her magic to destroy them. Elsa breathed a sigh of relief.

“Which is why we need you—all of you to find a way to protect it,” Luna said solemnly.

The ponies and dragon looked at one another with determination. They seemed ready to take up this quest. Elsa didn’t share that feeling.

“You want me to help protect an entire empire?” Elsa asked. She couldn’t help but clutch her gloved fingers nervously.

“This was the test that was meant for Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia explained. “But since she is unable to complete this task, we need you.”

Luna nodded. “My sister and I must remain here to watch over Canterlot. With your abilities, you should be able to give the Empire much needed aide.”

“You mean my powers?” Elsa raised her hands helplessly. “I can barely control them. And this isn’t my world. I just want to go home.”

“Would a princess really turn her back on those in need?” Celestia asked.

Elsa stiffened. “What do you mean?”

Celestia nodded at Pinkie. Pinkie beamed and reached a hoof into her mane. She pulled out a sparkling crown from her hair.

“Where—How did you get that?” Elsa demanded.

Pinkie shrugged. “It fell off your head when you slipped on the ice.”

“Um. We didn’t know if your crown was magical or something,” Fluttershy added. She hid her face in her mane. “So we held onto it until we got to know you better. Please don’t be mad.”

Elsa shook her head. She didn’t feel mad. She felt trapped.

“Princess Elsa,” Luna began.

“Queen,” Elsa said bitterly.

The princesses’ eyes widened, and the ponies glanced at each other nervously. Spike looked sickened. Elsa wondered what was the matter with them. Celestia cleared her throat and began again.

“Queen Elsa,” Celestia said. “I believe that things happen for a reason. It wasn’t just chance Twilight’s spell brought you here. Will you not help us?”

Elsa glanced around the room and saw that all of them were looking at her expectantly. True, this wasn’t her kingdom, but these ponies believed she could help them. She was stranded here until a magical unicorn figured out a way to change places with her again. Shouldn’t she use her time here doing something right for once?

“My powers can be dangerous if. . .if I let my emotions get the best of me,” Elsa said softly. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”

Celestia smiled kindly. “I don’t think you’ll hurt anypony. Besides, you’ll have your new friends at your side to help you.”

“Friends?” Elsa echoed.

Fluttershy placed a reassuring hoof on Elsa’s leg. “Yes. We’re your friends now. All of us.”

Pinkie Pie beamed at Elsa and waved her crown excitedly. “We sure are! Aren’t we, Dash?”

Rainbow shrugged and dug her hoof into the rug. Rarity nudged her. “Sure,” she finally admitted.

“We’re all here for you, Prin—I mean, Queen Elsa,” Applejack said. “We’ll figure out a way to protect the Crystal Empire together.”

“And. . .you really think Twilight will be able to reverse the spell soon?” Spike asked Celestia.

Celestia nodded. “I know so.”

Chapter Four

Arendelle: The Fjord Forest

Exhausted, Twilight Sparkle collapsed in the snow again. She couldn’t keep up this pace any longer. She had to rest. She didn’t think anypony—no, anything—from the castle was following, but she wanted to be as far away from there as possible. She put a hoof to her head. Her horn ached terribly. Her magic had finally stopped pouring from her only because . . . there wasn’t any left. She wasn’t able to perform even the simplest levitation spell now. She was so tired, she felt like she could sleep for days.

Twilight sighed. Without magic, how was she going to get out of this strange place? How was she going to get back home to her friends? She didn’t even know where she was.

A tear formed in the corner of her eye and dripped down her muzzle. She had been so blind. Her friends had tried to warn her. Spike had tried to tell her not to cast this winter spell. She should have listened.

“Unicorn!” a voice called.

Twilight’s ears pricked up. Oh, no. Someone had followed her. She lifted her head weakly and looked to see if there was anywhere to hide. Maybe she could try behind the trees but her tracks. . . in this snow they’d lead right to her. And she had no magic to conceal the hoofprints much less the strength to move.

What did it matter anyway? Let whoever it was find her. When she recovered enough of her magic, she could escape and find her way home.

Maybe.

“U-unicorn? Where are y-you?” The voice grew closer. It was feminine, and Twilight couldn’t detect any malice in it.

She turned toward the sound of movement and waited. One of the strange creatures from the castle appeared over the hill. She was shivering in her lightweight cloak and struggled to walk in the deep snow. The creature stopped abruptly when she saw Twilight. Twilight recognized her immediately. This was the one who had tried to defend her.

“Oh, my gosh, are you okay?” She hiked up her skirt and hurriedly waddled over. “Are you hurt?”

Twilight watched her warily. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

The creature smoothed down her dress. “Um. Okay. Well, I’m Anna. Er, well, Princess Anna of Arendelle is my official title, but I don’t really expect you to call me that. Anna is just fine.” She smiled brightly. “What’s your name?”

“Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. . . of Equestria. Er, your majesty.” Twilight gave Anna a slight bob of her head as a bow. She wasn’t sure of the customs here, but it was always polite to kneel before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Twilight hoped desperately that Anna was as nice a princess as the ones she knew and loved.

Anna seemed rather taken aback. “Oh, no. That’s not necessary. Just Anna is fine.” She paused thoughtfully. “Twilight Sparkle, huh? That’s a pretty name. So, Twilight, I was hoping you could tell me where my sister, Elsa, is.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side. “Elsa?”

“You know, queen, blonde hair, pointy crown, and kinda has extreme ice powers I never knew about.”

“I don’t think I saw her. She has ice powers?”

Anna rubbed her arms. “Yeah, uh, so I kind of made her mad in the ball room, and she freaked out. Froze the floor. And then this blizzard thing came out of her hand, and there was this blinding light, and then you were there.” Anna gestured helplessly at Twilight. “And she was gone.”

“The Winter Arcaneum,” Twilight murmured.

“The what-um?”

“It’s this spell I cast. I did it back in Equestria. I must’ve somehow tapped into your sister’s magic. And if I’m here, and she’s not then. . .” Twilight placed a hoof on her aching horn and sighed. “We must have switched places.”

Anna seemed to take this news in stride. “Um. Okay, so, can’t you undo it? Because not only did you switch with my sister, you kind of set off an eternal winter everywhere.”

"Everywhere?"

"Well, just the Arendelle Kingdom and the F-Fjord."

That magic was more powerful than she thought. But surely she could find a way to reverse the effects. Like any unicorn, Twilight knew that casting spells required energy from the caster. The more powerful the magic, the more the unicorn’s energy would be depleted. It was simple enough to rejuvenate. Some rest and food normally would do the trick, except this wasn’t normal at all. It was rare for a unicorn to cast a spell that depleted her magic entirely. Twilight had no idea how long it would take for her to gain her strength back.

But her magic would come back eventually. Twilight rubbed a hoof under her chin. What would it take to fix this? She needed a reversal spell for all the snow and ice she had caused. But a spell that large. . . if she could send the beam up into the sky and treat it like a weatherspell. . . Yes, that might work. But what about getting Elsa and herself back home? There wasn't any other way around it. No other spell could produce the same effect except Winter Arcaneum. But if she couldn't control the overflow of magic the first time, how could she do so this time? What if something worse happened?

Twilight massaged her head, clearing her thoughts. She couldn't think like that now. She needed to focus.

"I need to get somewhere up high. Do you have any hot air balloons or flying machines?" the pony asked.

Anna made a face. "Um, no. Oh! But there's the North Mountain! That's really high up. Do you think that'd w-work?"

"I suppose that will do. Where is it?

"Kind of far from here. I think. . . Maybe. . ."

"You don't know where it is," Twilight said dryly.

"Not exactly. I, um, didn't really get out of the castle much," Anna said shivering.

"Never mind, then. First, let's get somewhere warmer." Twilight pushed herself up gingerly. She swayed and Anna caught her.

"I’m fine,” Twilight said righting herself. She was more concerned about Anna than herself at the moment. Her clothes were clearly not suited for the cold. Twilight wished she could cast a warming spell for them both. She also felt curious about this strange place and Anna. As the pair trudged through the snow, Twilight couldn’t help but try to learn more.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what are you?” Twilight asked.

“A human. Don’t you have those where you’re from? Where did you say you were from?” Anna asked. Clearly she was just as curious as Twilight felt.

“Equestria.”

“Hmm. Never heard of it. Like ever. That must be super far away. Honestly, I didn’t even know that unicorns were real.”

“Really?” Twilight murmured. “They’re common where I’m from.”

Anna then launched into telling what little she knew about unicorns. (Most of the stuff was absolutely ridiculous. Unicorn’s coats were not always pure white, and they didn’t come up to pretty girl humans and let them braid their manes.) Twilight was only half focused on her words, giving an occasional “That’s strange,” or “No, that’s not right” here and there. She was more concerned about Anna never knowing that unicorns existed and how Twilight had never learned of humans in any of her studies. Either Twilight was in an extremely remote land of her world or . . . she was on another world entirely. Twilight stumbled at the thought. Luckily, Anna didn’t seem to notice. She continued her pace.

It made sense that she was in a different world. It was well-known that Starswirl the Bearded had always wanted to explore other worlds. But no pony thought he had ever achieved such a dream. Maybe Winter Arcaneum was one of the spells that gave him the idea for it. Or maybe. . . Twilight bit her lip. Of course. That was it. Instead of creating a spell to create a winter storm from the air around the unicorn, Starswirl created a spell to take a winter storm from somewhere else. Elsa had been using her ice powers when Twilight cast the spell. She had taken the winter storm from Elsa.

Twilight stopped, shaken by what this meant. How could Starswirl have been so careless? Sure, he had always been boastful in his diaries of his exploits. What pony wouldn’t be? But he had always seemed to be careful---even with his most ambitious spellwork of time travel. Before he even dared to create the spell, Starswirl worked tirelessly for years to make sure that his impact on the timestream wouldn’t be harmful to the future, past, or present. For him to create a spell like Winter Arcaneum that had the capability to take weather from other places . . . Didn’t he realize at all that he could be harming others? What if the winter storm was desperately needed so that crops would be successful in the spring? Simply taking weather away that was supposed to happen just to satisfy a pony’s purpose wasn’t right. Did he know that’s what the spell did? Or was he as blind as Twilight had been when she had cast Winter Arcaneum? Clearly she hadn't understood the repercussions of such magic either.

* * *

They had been walking for a long time now in the snow-covered forest. It was beginning to get dark. Hopefully, they would come across a house to stay for the night. Otherwise Anna would have to build a shelter. Which she wasn't quite sure she knew how to do. It sure was cold. She wondered if Elsa was cold right now.

Anna glanced over at the unicorn. She had been really quiet the past hour or so. Anna didn't really know what to say to cheer the poor thing up. Maybe she should just start talking.

"Do you think Elsa will be okay in Equestria?" Anna asked suddenly, interrupting Twilight's gloom.

"I'm sure she would be. My friends would help your sister, I'm sure. Of course, they wouldn't understand what happened, so I'm sure they'd go to Princess Celestia and. . ." Twilight groaned suddenly.

"What? What's wrong?"

"It doesn't matter now. But Princess Celestia was going to give me a test before I cast my spell. She'll be sure to fail me now. I really messed things up," Twilight said bitterly.

Anna wondered what kind of test a unicorn would have to take. She didn't think it would be something like the geography tests that her grumpy tutor had her take when she was twelve. Still, it couldn't be that bad. Anna gave a cheerful smile. "Oh, that's okay. I r-really messed things up with Elsa before your spell happened. We just have to make things right. When you g-get back home, you can explain to your teacher what happened, and I'm sure she'll forgive you."

"You really think it'd be that simple?" Twilight asked.

"Well, why not? Oh, look! I see smoke!" Anna exclaimed.

She was glad to see the unicorn light up with a grateful smile. Now nobody would have to build a shelter. She couldn't wait to be warm again. Anna hiked up her skirts with renewed vigor and raced forward through the snow.

"Wait, Anna! Slow down or--"

It was too late. With a cry of alarm Anna tumbled down the slope. Twilight hurried forward. She watched as Anna splashed into the icy stream at the bottom. "Are you okay?" she called down.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold," Anna managed.

Anna hurried out of the water and went toward the source of the fire. Twilight carefully made her way down the slope after her. It wasn't long before Anna's skirts were completely frozen. The snow covered cabin was a welcome sight for them both. The lights were even on inside. Anna shuffled up to the building with Twilight beside her. Twilight helped her up the step as Anna reached to knock snow off the sign.

"Wandering Oaken's Trading Post! Oooh and Sauna!" Anna read.

Beside her, she sensed Twilight's hesitation. The princess guessed that Twilight didn't want to get shouted at and chased like the last time she was around people. Anna was determined to not let that happen again. Besides, she didn't want Twilight to be out in the cold while she was inside. That wasn't fair at all.

"Well, come on. There's no sense waiting out here," she urged and the pair went inside the store.

A blast of warm air instantly greeted them. The door slammed shut from the wind, smacking their backsides and propelling them forward. They gave each other small grateful grins. Anna could already feel her skirts begin to lose their stiffness. The shop itself was small and cramped with only a few shelves, but it had a variety of food and various oddities to offer.

"Yoo-hoo, big summer blowout!" a voice called.

They turned to see a large bear of a man sitting behind the counter. Despite his size, he appeared very friendly. Anna guessed that he was Oaken. "Half off swimming suits, clogs, and a sun balm of my own invention, yah?" He gestured to each item he named and then held up a bottle of lotion. He looked back and forth between Anna and the pony hopefully.

"Oh, great," Anna said, "For now, how about boots? Winter boots. . . and dresses?"

"That would be in our winter department," Oaken gestured to the far wall where the selection looked skimpy indeed.

"Oh," the princess said. She went over and grabbed the winter clothes. "Um, I was just wondering; has another young woman, the Queen perhaps, I don't know, passed through here?" She set the wares on the counter.

"Only one crazy enough to be out in this storm is you, dear. You and your pretty costumed pet."

Anna exchanged a surprised glance with Twilight. The unicorn gave the teeniest of shrugs. He thought Twilight was just a regular pony dressed up. That would explain why he was so calm about the unicorn following her around. Anna couldn't help but compare his reaction with those at the coronation. She guessed people would believe what they wanted to believe.

Before Anna could respond, the bell for the front door rang. The howl of the wind and the audible slam of the door brought a new stranger in their midst. An intimidating man stood at the entrance wiping ice uselessly from his snow-blown clothes. His face was covered by a rag, and frost had collected on his hair. Anna wondered where in Arendelle he had been.

A small movement caught the corner of her eye. Twilight had apparently been startled by the man as well. She was choosing to hide behind the shelving rather than be within eyesight of that guy. Anna allowed herself to breathe again. That was quick thinking on the unicorn's part. Anna doubted that this "snow man" would be as easily fooled as the shop keeper.

The shop keeper didn't seem fazed in the least. "And this fellow, too. Yoo hoo. Big summer blow out." And once again Oaken held up his precious sun balm.

Then to Anna's utter surprise, the snow man was walking right up to her. Oh, gosh, well, maybe he was interested in the lotion. No, no, he was looking right at her. She awkwardly leaned against the counter, looking away from him.

"Carrots," the snow man said.

"Huh?" Anna asked stupidly.

And then the snow man had the gall to lean even closer. "Behind you."

Understanding dawned on her. "Oh, right," she grinned sheepishly up at him and stepped out of the way. "Excuse me."

The snow man set the carrots on the counter and stomped off to the winter department. Anna looking through the shelves, saw Twilight scramble to readjust her hiding place so she'd stay out of his sight. Luckily he didn't notice the unicorn's quiet hoof steps.

"A real howler in July, yah?" the shopkeeper asked conversationally. "Where ever could it be coming from?"

The snow man grabbed rope and a small ice axe from the meager winter supplies. "The North Mountain."

Anna didn't dare risk a glance at Twilight now. "North Mountain," she whispered wonderingly to herself. But the storm couldn't be coming from there. Twilight's magic had set it off. Maybe it was just worse up there. An idea began to take shape in her mind as the guy brought his items to the shopkeeper. Snow man had to have been to the North Mountain, or at the very least know where it is. He certainly looked well-traveled.

"That'll be forty," Oaken announced.

"Forty? No, ten," Snow man said incredulously.

The shop keeper seemed to be trying to break the news to him gently. "Oh, dear, that's no good. See, these are from our winter stock, where supply and demand have a big problem."

"You want to talk about a supply and demand problem? I sell ice for a living." He nodded his head at the window.

Anna could see an old ice-loaded sled in the snow outside. "Ooh, that's a rough buisness to be in right now. I mean, that is really. . ." She trailed off when she caught his look. “Ahem, that's unfortunate."

"Still forty," the shopkeeper repeated. "But I will throw in a visit to Oaken's sauna. Yoo hoo! Hi, family!"

Snow man and Anna turned to see a windowed door leading to the obvious sauna. Oaken's family waved through the glass. "Yoo hoo!" they cried. Anna couldn't help but wave back.

"Ten's all I got," Snow man pleaded. "Help me out."

Oaken switched the carrots for the winter supplies. "Okay. Ten will get you this and no more."

Anna cut in, "Okay, just tell me one thing: what was happening on the North Mountain? Did it seem . . .magical?"

Snow man pulled down his face cloth in clear annoyance. "Yes. Now, back up while I deal with this crook here."

Slowly, Oaken stood up from his tiny chair. Snow man gulped at the sight. He was impossibly large, his head brushing the ceiling of the store. Strangely, he didn't seem angry at snow man. Just deeply hurt. "What did you call me?"

Without waiting for a response, in one swift motion Oaken stepped out from his counter, grabbed snow man like one would grab a tantrum throwing child, opened the front door (happily letting snow man's head hit the sign on the way out), and threw him far into the snow. The bear even had the nerve to call “bye bye” to snow man as he slammed the door. Anna gaped at him. She was sure Twilight was doing the same. Oaken returned calmly to his tiny chair.

"I'm sorry about this violence," he held up a jar of pickled fish. "I will add a quart of lutefisk so we'll have good feelings. Just the outfit and boots, yah?"

"Uh," Anna looked down at snow man's supplies and then to the window where he must be laying face first in the snow. Gosh, he must feel terrible right now. And that idea rolled over again in her mind. Well, it was worth a shot, right?

* * *

Twilight clearly did not feel the same way as Anna. Once they were outside the shop, she let her voice be heard.

"We need to get out of here," she said in a rush. "The sooner we get away from these weird . . . other humans, the better. Come on, Anna."

She turned when Anna wasn't following her. Anna was standing in the snow, dressed in her new clothes, deep in thought. Twilight was glad that she no longer shivered in the cold. Anna clutched a satchel filled with her other purchases. "I think we should ask that ice guy to take us to the North Mountain," she said slowly.

Ah, so that's why she had bought his supplies. Twilight had just assumed she did it for their journey. "Oh, come on. It can't be that hard to find."

"Arendelle has more than one mountain, and he could probably get us there a lot faster," Anna countered.

"But what if he turns out as crazy as that storekeeper? Plus, how are we going to explain. . . everything to him?" Twilight asked. She fought the urge to begin pacing in the snow. Everything and everyone in Arendelle was so weird to her. Anna was the only human thus far to not be . . .well, scary. That Oaken character had rattled Twilight. Thank goodness he hadn't decided to toss her out of the store. Twilight was well aware of how much an oddity she was in this place.

"Twilight, it will be okay," Anna assured her. "I really think we should just try talking to him."

Twilight sighed. Anna did seem sincere, and she was a princess after all. She had to be capable of making good decisions. Just like Princess Celestia. "Okay," she relented.

It turned out the ice seller hadn't wandered far. There were clear footprints and some other sort of tracks Twilight didn't recognize. They led to a building nearly completely covered in snow. A warm lantern's glow seeped through the cracks in the door. As they approached, they could hear the ice man singing and playing a lute. They paused at the door to listen. The song was strange, but Twilight felt a little better simply by hearing it. He sang about how awful people could be and how his one friend was Sven. She could definitely relate.

Twilight gathered that the other set of tracks must belong to Sven. She wondered why the ice man sang for Sven though. Did Sven not feel like singing?

When it became apparent the song was over, Anna motioned for Twilight to stay put, and then opened the door. Twilight was grateful Anna wasn't making her come in right away. Anna could explain what was going on before Twilight showed herself.

"Nice duet," Anna said warmly.

Twilight watched as the ice man sat up with a jolt. And a big furry creature stood up, startled as well. Twilight squinted at the thing. What in Equestria was that? It had some sort of strange toed hooves. She wondered if the animal possessed the ability to talk.

Ice man relaxed at the sight of Anna. "Oh, it's just you. What do you want?"

"I want you to take me . . . and a friend up the North Mountain."

Twilight's ears pricked up. Anna considered her as a friend?

After ice man looked at Anna for a long moment and then settled back on his bed of hay, he placed his cap over his eyes. "I don't take people places," he said dismissively.

"Let me rephrase that," Anna said.

She tossed the heavy sack onto ice man's stomach. Ouch. Clearly, Anna didn't like to be ignored. She had his full attention now.

"Take us up the North Mountain. Please."

He eyed her and then opened the sack. Both he and the large furry thing marveled at the supplies she bought them. They glanced back up at Anna questioningly.

"Look, I know how to stop this winter."

The ice man sighed and then lay back down, replacing his cap. "We leave at dawn. And you forgot the carrots for Sven."

Anna promptly tossed the carrots at his face. He did not seem pleased with this. It did make him sit up again and pay attention to her, though.

"Oops, sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean," she cleared her throat, abandoning her apology. "We leave tonight. But, um, first, I should probably tell you a few things."

The ice man offered the animal a bite of carrot before taking one himself. Twilight made a face. Well, that was gross. They waited for Anna to speak.

Anna struggled to explain the basics. "So, um, I'm Anna. Like, Princess Anna and my sister is. . .well, magical, apparently. Um, she has ice powers? And she let them loose at the coronation ball, and then she disappeared, and my friend showed up in her place. And my friend is kinda magical, too. She accidentally froze all of Arendelle."

The ice man studied her for several long moments. "Who's this friend?" he asked finally.

"Oh, um. Come on out, Twilight," Anna encouraged.

Cautiously, Twilight stepped into the barn. The ice man gawked at her. "What is that?"

"I'm not a that!" Twilight said indignantly. "I'm a unicorn. From Equestria. It's, um, really far from here."

"A unicorn, huh?" he said slowly. "So, what's your plan?"

Twilight swallowed. She was still working on that. "We need to get to the North Mountain. Hopefully, it's a high enough point that I can recast my spell and switch places with Queen Elsa."

"You think that will work?" he pressed.

Twilight balked. Anna jumped in quickly, "Of course it will. Just help us get there."

"Fine," he said evenly. "I'm Kristoff, and this is Sven." He stood up, shouldering the sack of supplies. "Let's get going."

"Uh, what kind of animal is Sven?" asked Twilight as the unusual pair walked by.

"Oh, he's a reindeer," Anna said. She caught Twilight's curious glance as they went out of the barn. "And, no, they don't talk."

She couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Does any other creature talk besides humans?" Twilight asked.

"Nope," Kristoff grunted, hitching Sven to the sleigh. "Except you."

"Oh," Twilight said dismally. She studied Sven who was staring at her pointedly. Despite his lack of ability to communicate, Sven had a definite intelligence in his eyes. Twilight mused that if Fluttershy were here, she'd be able to understand Sven. Fluttershy. . . thinking of her made her miss all of her friends. . . and home. Would this spell really work? She could feel a trickle of her magic coming back but. . .she shouldn't use it anytime soon. She needed to save her strength for the Winter Arcaneum.

"Come on. Let's go," Kristoff urged.

Twilight looked up to see the humans settling onto the seat of the sled. Twilight scrambled into the back of the wagon, and just like that--they were off.